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I rake my hands through my hair and across my face, then exhale. Neither of us can do this alone. Neither of us should do this alone.
Yes, I say out loud to the walls surrounding me.
I leave the office, and head for the massive shower in his room. I don’t allow myself any time to relish the dual shower heads blasting at me. I dress quickly and head for the door. I pick up the paper with the door code on it.
“My number in college, the year we graduated, and my number as a pro,” he’d said.
And I pick up the key he left me, “Just to have, in case… whatever.”
I can’t help but smile at his mixed emotions about all of this. Smile because I’m feeling it all, too. But the feelings that supersede everything at the moment are love and peace.
Chapter twenty-six
Levi makes a display of looking at his watch when I walk into the rink.
“Of all the days you pick to be late,” he scoffs at me, but he’s smiling. I had called him to let him know, and I’m not really that late. The Zamboni is still polishing the ice. The sparkling new Zamboni painted with the Avengers splashed all over it. I just shake my head.
“How much did that set you back?”
“The paint job or the Zamboni?”
I laugh. “I’m sure the paint job cost more.”
He shrugs a bit and laughs. This is for Devyn. There is nothing Levi or Brady won’t do for her.
I’ve lost count of the number of buildings I can take credit for creating. I’ve never been one to brag about my work. It has always come naturally to me, and I’ve always loved it. I have never cared about the money I could make, and probably sold myself way short in that department over the years. But as my confidence in my work grew, what I did start to care about was freedom. The freedom to let my vision shine and to do things the right way. And that will never change.
As I stand here looking at the gleaming ice, freshly Zamboni’d. I soak in the sounds of this new building – feeling it vibrate in anticipation as if it were a living entity. Then I realize something else. I’ve never allowed myself to feel proud of anything I’ve done, either. Even Davey is proud of me and he wasn’t afraid to admit that when I’d given him the grand tour.
Maybe because I’ve been sober for more of this project than any other in my life.
Maybe because Levi’s vision so quickly became my own.
Maybe because I’ve never had so much fun despite all the snags and delays, a reminder that I do truly love what I do.
Maybe because this isn’t just a building, isn’t just an ice rink. This is a place that can and will change lives.
And maybe because the man next to me has never wavered in his faith and belief in me, in his determination that we are a team… that we are family, and not just because of Brady. This Grizzlies organization, and Natasha Barnes LLC, is above all else, a family, bound by faith and belief in each other and I am a part of that family.
I truly am home.
“Ever done this before?” I ask.
Levi shakes his head. “Nope. Not like this.”
We’ve both been the first on a newly frozen lake as kids playing hockey. Even I have had the privilege of doing that. But that honor refreshes each year. This ice we are staring at right now—it will only lose its virginity once.
“I won’t be the one to pop this cherry either,” he says and winks, reaching for his phone.
I smile. I already know this man so well. “Is she across the street?”
Levi returns the smile and presses the phone to his ear. “Hey babe, wanna grab your skates and come over here?” Levi pulls the phone away from his ear before we hear Devyn’s excited squeal through the phone.
“Grab the Big Guy too, and anyone else you want.”
“Do you still skate?” Levi asks me.
I appreciate him asking, but no, this is for them. I shake my head. Besides there is no way in hell I’m going to step onto the ice with a bunch of men and one powerful woman who can flatten me like a pancake.
